Our guide to finding the best weekends away abroad

There can be no better way to kick-off your summer than with a weekend away abroad.

With budget airlines thriving and a host of comparison websites forcing hotels to compete in offering the best deals, a three-day trip can be picked up at a great price.

Ryanair is always a great place to start when looking for flights to some of Europe's best weekend destinations.

They currently have one way flights starting at £9.99 from all of the UK's biggest airports, with places such as Dublin, Berlin, Parma and Oslo all available.

For just a little more, great deals can also be found to some of the more popular short-break cities, including Rome and Barcelona.

When the cost of travel and accommodation can be be kept so low, its even more important to consider how expensive the city itself can be, especially now the euro is almost on par with the pound.

For this reason the Eastern European cities are always a popular choice. The likes of Prague and Budapest have kept their prices relatively low despite their growth as tourist destinations in recent years.

Travelocity is a particularly easy site to use when searching for weekends away abroad.

Their city breaks section breaks down deals to your chosen city for the next 4 weeks, showing you the cheapest price for a one-night, two-night or three-night stay on those dates.

You can currently pick up three nights at a four star hotel in Paris during June for as little as £155 per person. These pointers should send you well on your way to finding brilliant weekends away abroad.